My son had the ability to ride his bike without stabilisers, but all he was lacking was the confidence. He needed to get over the fear of failure and the fear of falling off.

So I unbolted the training wheels and helped my son on to his bike. And then we just practiced falling off, falling over, and generally pratting around. We broke down the fear barrier by ridiculing it.

Funerals are never easy. I’m sure many mourners find themselves lamenting that missed opportunity to say ‘goodbye’ properly. I’ve never had that chance to share that opportunity with any of those I’ve lost. A final farewell as the coffin is committed is the closest I’ve ever come. And that’s the moment when it becomes real; the moment you fully, truly realise you’ll never see that person again.

I’ve set my alarm for 7am tomorrow. That’ll give me time to squeeze a jog into my schedule before showering, meditating, having breakfast and then sauntering into my home office ready for a day at the helm of EggCup Web Design.

Over the course of the past 10 years I’ve dabbled with the philosophy of Buddhism — without much success I hasten to add. I began my adventure with ludicrously high expectations. Nirvana was only a few small steps away, or so I thought at the time…

It’s okay to be afraid. The turning point in my life came when I realised that I couldn’t escape fear. It’s hard-coded into each and every one of us. It serves a powerful evolutionary purpose, so rather than trying to deny it I realised the only way forward was to embrace it and accept it for what it was.